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| 05:01 Wed 14 May 2008 |
Tag: Design
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Design", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Rotor Group |
| 2008-05-12 15:39:50 |
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The work of Belgium’s Rotor Group is popping up in more and more visible places. Rotor covers a wide range of projects, from basic design, branding and packaging, to events, lighting planning, interiors, showrooms, products, trade shows and art. We especially like the work they have done with Belgian lighting firm Modular Lighting Instruments creating events, showrooms and surroundings that defy definition. A great example is Rotor Designer Toon Stockman’s retro-futuristic showroom for Modular that pays homage to Modular’s Beam Squad and consists of six enormous cages supported by a skeleton of fluorescent tubing. The wild narrative for this installation — a typical Rotor tale — tells of life-destroying peril but luckily, all will be well and in about 2069, lighting will be manufactured in peace again. By Tuija Seipell |
| Growing Greener |
| 2008-02-19 16:56:46 |
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For eons, walls of greenery have surrounded people and creatures living in jungles, rainforests and other lush places. Ancient Asians and Europeans since Roman times have paid gardeners to create green art and sculpture for their gardens, from elaborate topiary sculptures and mazes to vine-covered walls. And, of course, we’ve seen inventive uses of built outdoor space — including rooftops, patios and balconies — as places to bring more green into our overly concrete-covered lives. Smudging the line between indoors and outdoors, and playing with the illusion of greenery where it doesn’t really belong, are also the basis of some recent installations that we like. Mass Studies, founded in 2003 by Minsuk Cho in Seoul, Korea, has produced some great examples of this. Among them is Ann Demelmeester’s store (pictured above) in Soul. It is one of only four concept stores showcasing the fashions of the Flemish designer. Green walls are not just visually interesting and environmentally beneficial, they add a sense of calm and peace that is difficult to achieve by other means. The inclusion of real, living plants on a large scale in places where you don’t expect to see them, also adds other sensory elements — the scent of the greenery, the sound of water, perhaps the feeling of humidity around the installation. The organic texture invites touch and inspires conversation — how was this installed, how is it cared for, who did it? We’ve found some interesting green installations, such as this school in the UK and a hair salon in Japan, but we’d love to see many, many more. We think there’s room for much more creativity and daring in this arena, so let us know if you spot remarkable and unusual examples. By Tuija Seipell Send to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Diane von Fürstenberg Studio - NYC |
| 2008-02-15 20:02:27 |
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Diane von Fürstenberg Studio’s new headquarters fits perfectly in New York City’s fashionable Meatpacking District, also known as the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The new, six-story building is wedged between two historical, landmarked facades that resemble the wall props in Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba. One corner of the structure is topped by a Olot, Spain-made faceted glass sphere that is part of the penthouse suite and seems like a gigantic diamond fallen from the sky. In the design, New York-based WORK Architecture managed to combine old and new, light and dark, openness and enclosure, artistry and practicality. The building houses DVF’s flagship store, a 5,000-square-foot showroom and event space, offices and studios for a 120 people, an executive suite, and a penthouse apartment. Inside the building, the chief feature is the “stairdelier,” a wide stairway that connects the floors and distributes light throughout the building. Flexibility characterizes all of the public areas. Pivoting walls and built-in unfolding “steamer-trunk” structures allow for a wide use of the space for fashion shows, photo shoots, events and parties. WORK was founded in 2002 by Beirut, Lebanon-born Amale Andraos and Rhode Island native Dan Wood. Many of their projects are in New York, but their work includes everything from a master plan of an Icelandic town to a theatre stage set, from low-income housing towers in New York to a luxury residence in Panama, plus retail, office and residential projects around the world. WORK is also designing 14 DVF stores in 11 countries. Diane von Fürstenberg was born in Brussels, Belgium, 61 years ago. She started her fashion designer career in 1970. Famous for her wrap dresses, which she started creating in 1973, she has become a veritable fashion icon. She is also the current president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the non-profit association of America’s fashion heavy-weights. By Tuija Seipell See also Creative Work Environments Random archive Skype Phones Neon Disco Drink Away The Art Mobile Movies |
| The Friendly Garage |
| 2008-02-08 18:40:54 |
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For many of us, taking our cars to the garage can be a daunting experience. Feeling anxious and uncertain over the price and duration over jobs, use of technical jargon and the like. This may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the launch of the major rebranding programme for car care network HiQ, starting with their new concept center opening in Nottingham, UK. The aim was to revolutionize the way fast fit car care is delivered and to develop a fresh retail concept that would set new standards in this sector. And it looks like they have come up with the goods. Designed by the London team at Fitch, the brand has been repositioned by using simple language, illustrations, and the center itself has clever features like glass walls that allow customers to see onto the garage floor for themselves. We have seen this uncomplicated, tell it like it is mentality popping up all over the place, especially as banks try to re-align themselves with their customers. It is now nice and refreshing to see this evolving into other touch points of consumers' lives. I wonder if this approach would make going to the dentist any better? By Brendan McKnight |
| Tear Free Tantrum |
| 2008-02-07 14:01:13 |
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Don't you hate it when you see something and think 'why wasn't this around when I was a kid?'. Tantrum is the UK's first dedicated children's hairdressing company and has just launched their first of many salons on the oh-so chic Kings Road in London. Catering from newborns to 15 years olds, this is a hairdressing haven for everyone – especially parents who are pretty much guaranteed a tear-free experience. And why would you cry, when you are the hippest kid in hip-town. The salon is separated into two sections. The first, 'Moon' is for children up to the age of 7, and is set in an enchanted forest complete with its own locomotive train that runs around the styling stations. Children get their hair cut in a variety of vehicles from a Mercedes to a plane and also have individual flat screen TV's to keep them entertained. The second zone, 'Vogue' is a bit funkier and is for 7-15 year olds. Looking something like a mix between a pop stars' dressing room and backstage at fashion week, this is sure to bring out the inner diva in any older child. Coupled with a games room housing a huge TV with a Wii/PS3 and their very own juice bar to sit at, your children may never want to leave. What we especially love about Tantrum though (and yes there is more to love), is that to finish off the experience, children can have their photo taken with their new 'do, which is emailed to the parent and displayed on the celebrity wall at the salon ready for the child to sign on their next visit. How cool is that! By Brendan McKnight (spottted by TCH reader -Ned Gammell) |
| If The lid Fits |
| 2008-02-04 15:52:31 |
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It's not easy these days to create a point-of-sale display that truly stands out in the hectic visual environment of an average busy department store, yet alone one for Selfridges in London. Manchester based True North were given the task to create a 'can't miss it' bespoke display system for Adidas Originals within the Offspring concession at the Oxford Street store. Taking inspiration from the product itself where an Adidas shoebox becomes a table and the shoebox lid, a chair, they have created a display and "trying on" area where customers can fully immerse themselves in the brand. Launching this week, we suspect these will be the hottest chairs in London. By Brendan McKnight |
| Moving On Up - The New Attic |
| 2008-01-29 19:50:15 |
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A house attic does not evoke images of style and chic design. Rather, we find ourselves thinking of dark, cobweb-infested, damp and dreary crawl spaces. We think of attics as leftover space under the roof where we abandon unwanted stuff – outdated clothing, old books, grandma’s hat boxes, grandpa’s hunting gear, coin collections and bags of seashells from that long-ago beach vacation. But space in our urban areas is at a premium and there is not a square foot to waste. Architects and designers are now starting to see the potential of this extra space, and offer solutions that meet the needs of the most demanding style freaks. Sunlight, additional rooms, extra bathrooms — it is all possible in the attic. Starchitects around the world have made dramatic rooflines trendy, so we can all give up on our visions of the embarrassing drywalled and pine-paneled disasters that attics tended to morph into, every time we tried to make them livable. Within very few square feet, designers are finding space for sleeping, cooking and eating, and using the sloping rooflines to create impressive skylight windows. We can all see the delightful benefits of maximizing the amount of livable and useable space – even if it meant clearing away the precious collections of bric-a-brac we’ve spent generations accumulating. Ample sunlight penetrating the attic apartment means than even nocturnal arachnids have been sent packing. By Andrew J Weiner and Tuija Seipell We're looking for more attic renovations, if you spot one, send This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| MC1 Supercar Concept |
| 2008-01-23 23:46:23 |
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In an attempt to revolutionize the process of car design, David Hilton, founder of Motorcity Europe, along with C2P Automotive, created the MC1 Supercar in just three months. Hilton, who spent much of the formative part of his career working for Ford, believes the MC1 will be production-ready by 2011, if he finds the right client. Presently, the mid-engine, V10-powered supercar has no set identity or branding. We’re willing to bet a recognizable logo will soon sit neatly within its grill. By quickly translating computer-based design into engineering, Motorcity Europe achieved a radically different approach to supercar design in regard to its proportions and manufacturing processes. While certain aspects of the exterior appear entirely futuristic from nearly every angle, the MC1 looks like one of those cars we always dreamed we could afford. Fortunately, all anyone can see right now is the outside – the interior will be ready this spring. By Andrew J Wiener |
| Nobel Peace Center - Oslo, Norway |
| 2008-01-22 15:18:31 |
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The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway is housed in a former Victorian railway station, and within, an original Nobel Prize medal is the only historical item on display. The museum was not built as a memorial to those who won the Prize in the past, but a dynamic, contemporary space explaining the story of the Nobel Peace Prize as well as providing a number of events and exhibitions throughout the year. Beginning in mid-October when the new Peace Prize laureate is announced, the golden Passage of Honor allows visitors to track each step of the event. Throughout the remainder of the year a documentary on that winner is played. The main focus of the Center is the Nobel Field, where all the Peace Prize laureates are displayed in a virtual garden of 96 LCD screens dispersed throughout the space. A small motion sensor beneath each display screen activates when approached, and a short video with information about Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as every other laureate including Al Gore can be viewed. By Andrew J Wiener |
| Wood Beach |
| 2008-01-14 15:28:53 |
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Many of us are drawn to the ocean in one way or another, and sometimes a soft, sandy beach is not nearby. Wouldn’t it be great if local council members of popular coastal areas could find an innovative means of providing access to our rocky foreshores? One community has done just that – wooden platforms constructed over rugged terrain allow enhanced enjoyment of the seaside. By Andrew J Wiener |
